Virginia Transportation

Virginia Transportation

Virginia is known to have one of the best and accessible transportation systems. It has a wide network of railroads and highways that are well developed. All these have been built for more than 400 years now and are a major tourist attraction.

The construction of all the major transits like sea, air and land started way back in 1607 in Jamestown. A lot of trails have been incorporated from the Native Americans. Virginia transportation involves planes, boats, cars, trains and helicopters.

Virginia Transportation

Virginia Transportation - Bridges and Highways

The Virginia Department of Transportation maintains the Virginia State Highway System. All the highways and roads are integrated and well maintained. In the year 2005, the Virginia Department of Transportation takes care of 57,082 miles of state highways making it the 3rd largest in the United States.

The Interstate 81 and the North Carolina Interstate 95 are one of the most important north-south highways in Virginia. Another route that is heavily traveled is the Interstate 66 that connects from Washington D.C to Capital Beltway at Front Royal. The Virginia Interstate 64 plies from east-west from the terminus of Virginia to Richmond.

Virginia Transportation - Interstate Highways

The Interstate highway in Virginia is very extensive in Virginia. The total of the Interstate Highway covers about 1118 miles. These are the freeways that have been approved by the Federal Highway Administration. Some of the Interstate Highways are given below:

Virginia Transportation - Primary Highway

The primary highway covers up to 8111 miles in Virginia. It covers all the major U.S routes that are approved by the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials. All the primary routes consist of business, bypass, alternate and bannered routes. Most of the primary routes are below 600 except 785 and 895 which are Interstate Highways. Some of the primary highways in Virginia are:

US-21, US-50, US-221, US-250 and US-522

Virginia Transportation - Secondary Highway

The secondary highway covers up to 48,305 miles in Virginia. There are more than 600 roads as compared to the primary routes. Most of the roads in Virginia are taken care by the Virginia Department of Transportation. Since these roads and routes are under the supervision of the VDT everything is taken care of.

Virginia Transportation - National Parkways

There are many national parkways in Virginia for the convenience of tourists. A few national parkways are:

The Colonial Parkway

The Skyline Drive

The Blue Ridge Parkway

The George Washington Parkway

Virginia Transportation - Waterway and River Crossings

There are many waterways and river crossings. Some of the best crossings are:

American Legion Memorial Bridge that is across Potomac River on I-495

Boulevard Bridge which is in Richmond

Arland D.WilliamJr. Memorial Bridge

Hampton Roads Bridge-Tunnel

James River Bridge

Midtown Tunnel

Virginia Transportation- Passenger Rail

The passenger rail service in Virginia is taken care by Virginia Railway Express and Amtrak. The concerned department is working on making it to be a high speed passenger rail. It would cover areas like Virginia Peninsula and South Hampton Roads. In Virginia, the Transdominion Express takes care of a major part of south central regions.